Republicans weigh big changes at U.S. budget referee agency

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Republicans weigh big changes at U.S. budget referee agency

BY DAVID LAWDER
WASHINGTON Mon Dec 22, 2014 1:07am EST

(Reuters) - When Republicans take full control of Congress on Jan. 6, they will face decisions on major changes at the Congressional Budget Office, including possibly naming a new head and changing the rules used to assess the cost of legislation.

Conservative groups have been calling for the replacement of CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, who was appointed by Democrats in 2009 and whose term expires next month. They argue that a Republican-leaning economist would more readily adopt a cost analysis known as "dynamic scoring" that incorporates expectations of higher economic growth associated with legislation.

Analyses by the CBO, a non-partisan office, show how much a bill would increase or decrease the federal budget deficit over a 10-year period.

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Under current congressional analysis rules, if a bill cuts tax rates, government revenues fall. Dynamic scoring assumes that lower tax rates would boost growth and income, helping to offset at least some of the lost revenues.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/us-usa-congress-elmendorf-idUSKBN0K009I20141222

[Bragi]

1. "Dynamic scoring" sounds like "Right wing ideoloically compliant"

It appears to be based on the simplistic conservative belief that "all taxes are bad for the economy and all tax breaks are good."

In other words, it looks like it's a no-brainer for the new Congress, and the end of serious oversight by the CBO.

[Jeff Murdoch]

8. How's that model working out

for Kansas and Wisconsin?

[tuhaybey]

2. Taxes and economic growth

The underlying assumption, which the Republicans want to bake into the budget analysis process, is that lower taxes mean faster growth. The thing is, that isn't actually true. If anything, the opposite is true- lower taxes for the rich have historically correlated to slower economic growth.

[tridim]

3. A "non-partisan office" with a "Republican-leaning" director

will not be non-partisan.

Might as well just hire the Koch accountants and call it done.

[jmowreader]

9. Why even bother with accountants?

Just hire some Republican writers of fiction, like Glenn Beck.

[old guy]

4. Elections have consequences.

[blkmusclmachine]

5. Yes, but do you TRUST the Corporations who "count" the votes in secret to tell the TRUTH???

No!

[Darb]

7. Didn't seem to matter to the Republicans for the past 6 years, they gave no quarter to the majority,

yet now they expect the Democrats to be compliant to their lunacy. I don't think so.

[Pakid]

6. SOP for the Republican

is to lie, cheat and steal when that doesn't work then they go back to square one and start all over again by lying, cheating and stealing. Just like the movie Groundhog Day. So changing the way the CBO score how tax cuts work is just the same old BS that the Republicans have been doing for the last 40 years. And the next round of tax cuts for the rich will do only on thing increase the deficits and then the Republicans will scream how it all the Dem's fault and how they once again have to cut spending that helps the everyday American. Just so they can turn around and give the rich still another tax cut. You have to wonder when the fools who vote Republican and work for a living will wake up and realize just how much the Republican have been screwing them. Probably never there just not that smart and Fox will never tell them the truth!!